


Let Them Talk

by Emison



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-11
Updated: 2015-03-11
Packaged: 2018-03-17 10:27:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3525827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emison/pseuds/Emison
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alison wanders into The Brew to talk to Emily but when Emily shows her the secret machine that Johnny made and takes advantage of this technology.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let Them Talk

She was used to the stares. Well, not exactly in this context. Before she went missing, everyone stared at her because they were jealous and wanted to be her – or be her friend.  
Now, they stared at her because they were terrified of what she may do, as if she’d turn into a hurricane and wipe them all out too. Even though she’d been acquitted from Mona Vanderwaal’s murder, people still thought she did it.  
Her file in the police department said NOT GUILTY in huge block letters, yet wherever she walked, people whispered. If she wasn’t so tired of having eyes on her constantly, from –A to the guards at the prison to the people in Rosewood now, she may have enjoyed this new soundtrack of murmurs that followed her wherever she went.  
It was stupid to hide out in her house with her dad who couldn’t look at her ever since he found out that whole kidnapping story was faker than the prosecution’s toupee. That was why Alison DiLaurentis found herself outside of The Brew, mildly confused because Jason informed her earlier that day that Ezra now owned it, peering in past the tinted windows to where she saw Emily making some kind of coffee drink.  
It took her six whole minutes – that’s two songs playing into her ears that she did not have the attention to register – before she had the guts to go inside. Alison was not scared of the people in the coffee shop; she was worried about Emily. They’d only exchanged a few words since Alison’s trial and her insides twisted at the thought of Emily (and her other friends, of course) not wanting to see her after all they had been through.  
Pulling the tiny earbuds out, Alison wrapped them around her phone and tucked it into the light blue bag she was carrying over her shoulder. With a deep breath, she entered, a tiny bell announcing her arrival to the entirety of The Brew’s patronage.  
All the heads in the room turned to look at her and the murmur of the coffee shop stopped. Alison rolled her eyes and stepped inside, walking to the counter where Emily stood, her back to Alison, adding cream to someone’s latte.  
Fingers drumming against the table, Alison waited for Emily to turn around, not wanting to bother the other girl or cause her to jump. They’d had enough of that; she wanted desperately for every interaction she had with the brunette to be gentle and sincere – the kind of interaction that Emily deserved.  
The brunette turned around and handed an older man his latte, taking his money from him and putting it into the cash register. Her mind, Alison observed, seemed elsewhere.  
A tiny tinge in her stomach made Alison realize that she was hoping Emily’s mind was on her.  
Looking up from the cash register, the other girl’s brown eyes went right to Alison. The corners of her lips turned upward and then returned to their resting position before she finally spoke in a quiet voice, “Hey.”  
Alison half-smiled back at her, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder, “Hey.”  
There was a silence and both girls stood there, just watching each other carefully. Alison wanted nothing more than to be able to get past this awkwardness between them. It was easier to just physically be in each other’s presence than it was to speak to each other and she didn’t want that. She wanted conversation between her and Emily to come easily.  
“Do you want to buy something?”  
Alison’s blue eyes flicked up to the menu and then back to Emily, “Sure.”  
There was another moment of silence before Emily spoke once more, looking away from Alison and down at the cash register, “We have a special on cold drinks.”  
“Okay,” Alison crossed her arms over her chest as she read over the cold drink menu, forcing herself not to look at Emily, “Raspberry lemonade?”  
Emily nodded, reaching into a cooler beneath the counter and pulling out a bottle. As she searched for a bottle opener, she spoke once more in a soft tone, “Are you okay?”  
Alison glanced at her and simply nodded, watching as Emily removed the cap from the raspberry iced tea bottle and handed it to her along with a napkin.  
“Good,” Emily replied, wiping her hands on her apron.  
The blonde glanced up at the clock, “Are you off soon?”  
Following Alison’s gaze up to the clock, Emily nodded, “Five minutes.”  
“Okay.”  
The smaller girl moved over to one of the couches, ignoring the looks that a pair of girls gave her as she sat down near them, and sipped at her drink. Alison watched Emily, reveling in the normalcy of the whole thing. This had to be the most ordinary thing she’d experienced in so long and, for someone who was once so against being normal, Alison found it exhilarating.  
It wasn’t long before Emily was off work. As she took off her apron, Alison went back to the counter and placed her now empty bottle upon it.  
“You look nice today,” Alison told her, eyeing the black v-neck that Emily was wearing.  
Rolling her eyes, Emily’s lips curled into a small smile, “I’ve been working for four hours. I feel disgusting.”  
“Well,” A smile of her own crept onto her lips as Alison shrugged, “You don’t look disgusting.”  
As the brunette hung her apron up, they fell into another small silence. Emily came around the counter and stood beside Alison, her arms crossed over her chest.  
“So, did you want to talk or –”  
Alison cut her off, “No. I just wanted to see you.”  
Emily’s eyes bore into Alison’s, as if she was checking that Alison was telling the truth, and though Alison wanted to look away, she knew that doing so would only cause Emily to feel like she was lying.  
Emily took a step away from the counter and Alison moved with her, eyes falling onto a weird bubble-looking machine with a microphone under it.  
“What is that?” She asked Emily, desperate for anything to talk about that may extend their conversation.  
“Oh,” Emily sighed, “It’s a secret machine. You can say your secrets up there…” Trailing off, she pointed to the microphone Alison noticed at first glance and then to the wooden table a few feet away, “And then people can listen to your secrets over there.”  
Eyebrows knitting together, Alison wondered out loud, “That’s stupid. Why would you want people to listen to your secrets?”  
Emily shrugged, her eyes trained on the ground, “Sometimes it’s easier to say things when you don’t have to look the person in the eyes.”  
The blonde could tell that Emily was reliving something in her mind and the sinking feeling in her stomach let her know that this was not okay with her.  
“Go sit over there, I want to try it.” Alison gave Emily a small smile as she walked over to the microphone and stood under the bubble.  
Emily gave Alison a look of uncertainty before she finally moved to sit at the wooden table, placing her elbows on each of the metal indents, her hands going to her ears.  
“Okay,” Emily called, nodding, “Say something.”  
Alison swallowed hard. She knew what she wanted to say but she felt like Emily’s mind was elsewhere. She didn’t want to talk about how she felt for Emily if the brunette’s thoughts were with another girl, someone that came while Alison was gone.  
“Ali, say something,” Emily was watching her from the other side of the room at the table with an expectant stare.  
Clearing her throat, Alison said, “My name is Alison DiLaurentis.”  
Emily rolled her eyes but still flashed Alison a small smile, “I already know that. Tell me a secret.”  
Tearing her gaze away from Emily, Alison could feel her pulse crashing against her body in the most bizarre of places. Still, the sound of her own heart beating drowned out all the whispers and murmurs in The Brew, and somehow, Alison found the strength to say something to Emily.  
“When I was in prison, I kept a picture of you and the other girls on the wall. The one of all five of us from so long ago,” She glanced at Emily, who had the faintest of smiles as she looked down at the desk and not at Alison. She continued in a shaky voice, “I went to bed every night making sure your face was the last thing I saw. I always tried to dream about you.”  
Forcing her eyes to Emily, Alison saw that the other girl was still looking down but the smile grew. God, Alison thought, it was so good to be the person who made that smile happen.  
The brunette began to stand and Alison shook her head, calling out, “No, wait. I have one more thing to say.”  
Emily pressed her lips together thoughtfully before sitting back down but still avoided Alison’s gaze, “Okay.”  
Alison brought her lips back to the microphone and spoke in an apprehensive tone, “The night we spent together in my room. When you said my name and you kissed me. I didn’t do that because I was trying to manipulate you.”  
Out of the corner of her eye, Alison could see that Emily had shifted her gaze to Alison as she spoke. This caused nerves to shoot through her body and Alison wasn’t sure that she would be able to continue talking.  
With a huge sigh, Alison bit down on her lower lip and spoke once more, “You scare me in a good way. You make me feel things that I have never felt for anyone else and that is terrifying.”  
Alison’s eyes met Emily’s from across the room, the chestnut orbs wide with surprise for what she was hearing. Alison held the gaze as she went on, “But I know that what I feel so real, Emily, because it is the only thing that kept me going when I was in there. I needed to be able to tell you this – even if you don’t feel the same way anymore.”  
Alison stepped away from the microphone, knowing that she should stop before she said anything else. Avoiding Emily’s gaze, she moved out from under the bubble, only to walk right into Emily.  
“Sorry.”  
“No, don’t be.”  
Her electric blue eyes found Emily’s soft brown ones and they both stared at each other for a moment.  
“All of what you said –” Emily began, playing nervously with the hem of her shirt.  
Alison nodded, “It’s true.”  
Another hush fell between them but their eyes stayed rooted to each other’s. Alison knew that she said too much. Emily was freaked out and now they couldn’t even make small talk. It was now that level of weird. Tears began to well up in Alison’s eyes, dangerously close to spilling over, so Alison broke the silence.  
“Well, I should get home.”  
Emily shook her head, “No, wait.”  
Alison, who turned away moments before, felt Emily’s hand on her wrist. She turned back around to face the other girl, preparing for the worse, but instead was met with two very soft lips upon her own.  
It took Alison a moment to register what was happening. Her hands went to Emily’s cheeks and she pressed herself into Emily’s kiss, trying to remember everything about this moment so she would be able to play it over and over in her head later on when she would undoubtedly be awake that night, thinking about the brunette.  
She wasn’t sure how long the kiss lasted but she did know that once Emily pulled away, Alison was out of breath.  
Staring at Emily, Alison had no idea what to do next. Her hands dropped away from Emily’s face and they both were quiet for a moment.  
Then, Emily spoke, “I have to go home. My dad’s here from his base. But I’ll call you after dinner, okay?”  
Alison’s fingers trembled but she nodded, happy to know that their communication wasn’t going to end there.  
“Okay.”  
She watched as Emily grabbed her things from the counter and then made her way quickly out The Brew’s entrance. It was as if her brain had yet to fully process that she and Emily just kissed. Not only that, but they kissed in public. She was stunned.  
Lowering herself into a nearby chair, Alison heard her text tone. Numbly, she reached into her bag and pulled it out, a surge of worry moving through her that it may be –A texting.  
But it was from Emily: I’ve been dreaming about you, too.  
Her breath hitched and Alison turned her phone upside down so that she wouldn’t have to see the message that caused the excitement to move through her. Another text came in and Alison read it. Again, it was from Emily: You scare me, too. In a good way.  
The blonde grinned down at her phone and stood up, preparing to head home. Emily Fields was kind of hers and that made everything else, the whispers, the doubts, her dad being furious with her, okay. As long as she had Emily by her side, Alison knew she could endure anything.


End file.
